Just Beyond the Sunset
by IceMonsta
Summary: The man laughed warmly. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. Hermione studied him with her brown eyes. She faintly remembered those eyes from something, but she forgot. "How can I be so sure?" she asked. The stranger took off his hat and outreached his hand. "Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy." -One-shot Dramione-


**Disclaimer**: I do not own the Harry Potter series.

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Just Beyond the Sunset

.~.

_Just beyond the sunset _

_Someone waits for me_

_ Just beyond the sunset_

_ Lies my destiny_

_ Where the purple mountains_

_ Lie in deep tranquility_

_ There I'll find the treasure_

_ Of love eternally_

_ Just beyond the sunset_

_ Waits someone so fair_

_ Just beyond the sunset _

_All alone they wait there_

_ Their hair is golden_

_ The colour of the sand _

_Their eyes sparkle in the night_

_ Like diamonds in your hand_

_ Just beyond the sunset_

_ Lies a home for me_

_ Where the world is peaceful_

_ Like a paradise should be_

_ Just beyond the sunset_

_ Someday is where you'll find me_

-David Harris

.~.

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.~.

She gaped out into the horizon, watching as the sunset started to leisurely make its way toward the towering mountains. The sky was beautiful; colors of orange, tan, and pink swirled together to create an unimaginable sight. She leaned against the big, strong tree and sighed, wrapping her scarf around her neck more.

The sunset reminded Hermione of love; it gave her a spark of a memory that she had never felt in years. It had come to her attention that not everybody who was incredibly smart like she was would ever experience love. Even now, Hermione's bushy hair was tamed more than it had ever been since the Yule Ball, and her buckteeth had been fixed from years past.

Ron and her never worked out. She wanted to be an Auror, but he wanted to be something different. With struggle, they parted ways and Hermione felt deserted and melancholy from that day forth. The men she worked with weren't as serious as she was. Her brain ran much faster and had an organized schedule inside.

The sunset similarly reminded her of Harry and Ron; their love and compassion had made her happy and warm, and it took her a while to adjust without them. Hermione decided to see the sunset from London to bring the isolated feeling back.

"It's not everyday where you see a time like this," a voice startled Hermione.

Hermione spun around and saw a tall man with blonde hair staring into the horizon. His clothes were casual, as he was wearing dark jeans and a plain shirt.

Hermione felt cautious to who he was and backed away from him a little. She partially hid her face and nodded. "Yes, it is unusual," she said delicately.

The man laughed warmly. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said.

Hermione studied him with her brown eyes. She faintly remembered those eyes from something, but she forgot. "How can I be so sure?" she asked.

The stranger took off his hat and outreached his hand. "Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy."

Hermione gasped as she allowed herself to drop her scarf.

_Draco Malfoy?_

Draco studied her with a surprised look on his face. His eyes narrowed on her for a few moments and he backed up.

"G-granger?" he sputtered.

Hermione lost her words. "W-why are you here?" she asked dumbfounded.

Malfoy shook his head and swallowed. "I wanted to get away from my home as much as I could," he answered hesitantly.

Hermione exhaled and looked at the ground in misperception. "I have to go," she murmured, picking up her scarf and striding past him.

"No, wait," Malfoy grabbed her arm. Hermione stopped and closed her eyes. "Don't go," he said softly.

"Why?" she asked.

Malfoy sighed. "We aren't those kids right now. We aren't those kids who fought over blood race topics, or houses," he said.

Hermione turned and faced him. "I know, Malfoy, but I still believe what happened in the past. You let one of the greatest wizards get killed-"

Malfoy gripped her arm tighter. "Granger, you have no idea-"

Hermione shrugged off his arm. "No, I do! Harry and Ron also-"

"Granger, shut up and let me explain," he spat through his teeth.

Hermione closed her mouth and studied his grey eyes.

"Please," he said less harshly, whipping out his wand to conjure a picnic blanket under the big, strong tree.

Hermione bit her lip and he led her to the blanket and they both sat down. Hermione faced toward the sun, as it was almost to the mountains.

Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "Voldemort made me his worker. Since my father was a Death Eater, it was destined for me to be one as well. So they scarred my left arm with the mark," he explained.

Hermione turned her head to his left arm, as he pulled his sleeve up and traced his finger across the faded scar.

"That looks awful," Hermione murmured looking up at him with slight sympathy.

Malfoy shrugged and pulled his sleeve down. "It doesn't hurt anymore," he informed her, looking at the horizon again.

Hermione turned toward him. "This still doesn't explain why you tried numerous times to kill Dumbledore," she said firmly.

Malfoy picked at a few pieces of grass. "I hated the idea, truthfully. I didn't want to kill Dumbledore for many reasons. First of all, he was one of the greatest wizards of all time. Another reason is that I didn't have the stomach to do that to someone."

Hermione was surprised at his realism of his actions. She looked down and fiddled with her wool scarf. "Go on," she said.

Malfoy sighed and twined the grass together. "I had to do it because Voldemort said if I didn't, he would kill my family."

Hermione stopped. She couldn't imagine all the pressure put on one person to kill someone, especially if the person was threatened that their family would be killed.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't notice that-"

Malfoy waved off her apology. "It's fine. It was long ago anyway."

"But I judged you without knowing your story. I feel like a bloody idiot," Hermione mentioned, stroking her hair back.

Malfoy smiled and watched as her golden hair glistened in the sun. He noticed how much she had changed, or how much he didn't see.

Hermione turned her head back to him and he turned away. "Snape finished my job, so I ended up not doing it, of course you know that anyway," he explained. "So after all that, I didn't want to come back to 7th year. I knew everyone would judge me for something I didn't want to do."

"Like me," Hermione susurrated.

Malfoy just gave a slight chuckle and continued. Hermione studied his features, and noticed how much he had changed physically, and mentally. He was so much calmer and he didn't take each wrong as a bad thing. His muscles had gotten bigger, but not to big to be buff, and he was taller than before.

"I started dating Astoria Greengrass for a few years, but after that, something wasn't right, so we parted," he explained looking slightly disappointed.

"I'm sorry, " Hermione murmured to him.

Malfoy kept looking down and showed a tiny smile. "I just haven't found that perfect someone."

Hermione nodded and looked back at the horizon. "So what do you do now?" she asked.

Malfoy sighed. "I'm an Auror," he said.

Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Really?" she asked startled.

Malfoy nodded.

"Same here," she said softly.

Malfoy was shocked, knowing that their long enemy past had turned out to be an Auror resemblance.

Hermione studied him in shock. "Why did you want to become an Auror?" she queried.

"I didn't like dark magic, or people who threaten to rule our wizarding world. It took a while to persuade the people to let me in because they were concerned that I would hurt them."

Hermione glanced at the horizon, which was now close to sundown. "I guess I haven't seen you quite often in the Ministry of Magic."

Malfoy shrugged. "I think it's because we haven't recognized each other," he predicted.

Hermione nodded and studied his mercury eyes as they swirled deeply with color. Malfoy found himself looking into her eyes that glistened and shone in the sunlight.

Hermione turned away, feeling red.

Malfoy looked back at the horizon. "So what have you been doing after the war? Are you dating Weasley?" he asked.

Hermione looked down, feeling tears prick at her throat. She felt sad again, and that pit of darkness filled her like a blank hole inside her. "No," she answered quietly.

Malfoy studied her carefully. "What happened?" he asked.

Hermione felt her eyes well up and she gaped back up to the horizon, bringing her knees to her chest. "I… well we… we didn't really work out either, and he's married now, so…" she trailed off, resisting the urge to not cry.

Malfoy watched as a single tear trickled down her cheek and shimmered in the sun.

Hermione hastily wiped it away, scratching away the tears that ached in her throat. "I'm sorry," she murmured, turning away from him.

Malfoy shook his head. "Don't be sorry, Hermione," he said.

Hermione stopped and turned to look at her past enemy. "Why are you being so different? You're not being rude to me, or anything like that."

Malfoy studied her wet eyes, which shone against the orange sun. His eyes premeditated her features on her face, from her hazel eyes to her petite lips. Her peachy skin looked soft, and her pink cheeks from the brisk weather colored her face like a painting.

Malfoy dampened his lips and looked straight in her eyes. "I'm not Draco Malfoy anymore. I'm someone different," he looked up at the sky. "Think of me as the sky; in the earlier points, it was a blue, cloudless sky, but now, it is a mixture of different colors, and it looks and makes you feel different then before."

Hermione laughed a little. "You want me to compare you to the sky?"

Malfoy smiled. "Pretty much."

Hermione looked down, and then back up to Malfoy. His features no longer looked cold and shadowy, but instead brighter, still including his Slytherin soul. He looked so calm, peaceful, and remote. His blonde hair wasn't like glue on his head, but instead tousled and free.

Something interrupted that moment when Draco leaned forward and met their lips. Hermione almost stopped him in shock, but she couldn't. It was like a magnetic force wanting to push herself into him more. His hand traced her cheek and broke the kiss, as they were millimeters away.

Hermione looked at him wide-eyed and in disbelief as her brown orbs shook frantically. Draco traced his eyes around her face, trying to determine her emotions. Hermione studied his mercury eyes under his hooded lids, and felt his chilling breath ghost against her nose as she breathed in his minty scent into her lungs.

Hermione didn't know whether it was an accident or fate, but she ignored the fact of it being either one and kissed him again. Hermione brought her hands behind his neck as the sun started to sink behind the mountains, shining it's remaining light in between their kiss. Malfoy brought his arms around her body and pulled her closer to him until both their bodies were touching.

Draco could taste her sweet lips and smell the intoxicating scent of her cinnamon shampoo. His fingers played with her golden hair, and they savored this moment of accident or fate without caring one bit which one it was.

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A/N: Hey! My first quick one-shot! I hope you guys liked it, and I hoped it wasn't cheezy. This will remain a one-shot.

Thanks a lot!

Please do not plagiarize or take anything that I write without getting my permission, or giving me credit in whatever you do in it.

Xoxooxxo Ice Monsta.


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